The Key to My Heart is Gold
by Emerald Grey Jones
Summary: Harry's first year at Hogwarts was a test run and he didn't like what he saw. So he comes up with a plan to take charge of his own life. Slash
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Harry waved goodbye and watched as Hermione left with her parents. Finally, all his friends were gone, now he could start his plan.

After the whole incident with Voldemort and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry felt that his test trial was over. He would never be going to Hogwarts ever again, that was final. Safest place on earth his ass.

Towards the entrance of King's Cross Station, he spotted his uncle. Walking over with an empty look on his face, he took the verbal abuse his uncle dished out with ease and patiently waited for the trip back to the Dursley house to end.

"Out of the car boy," Vernon ordered.

"Yes Uncle Vernon."

He walked into the house but before he could take three steps into it, he turned suddenly and startled his uncle with the big grin on his face. His uncle, put off by his cheery expression, dropped his suit case on the wooden floor just inside the door so the neighbors didn't see it.

"What is it?" Vernon snapped at him.

"I would like to know if I could have a word with you and Aunt Petunia for a moment." Vernon opened his mouth to protest this request but Harry interrupted him. "If you let me talk to you, you will only have to see me probably, three months a year. Maybe even less than that, I don't know yet. But please, let me tell you my plan, and you would never have to communicate with me ever again."

His uncle thought it over; the prospect of getting rid of the freak was too tempting an offer to pass up. "Fine. But if it makes me get involved with your freakishness then no food for a week."

"Deal."

~.~

He looked at his relatives who were shifting nervously on the couch before him. He had pulled up chair from the kitchen and set it in front of the couch so he wasn't at some awkward angle looking at them.

"You were right." He started, "the wizarding world is terrible. They are far more extreme in their prejudice than," he had to word this carefully or he couldn't sell this idea, "normal people without magic are. So, I propose that I go to a boarding school _of my choice_, and all you would have to do is smile and sign the papers."

"But what if the freaks come looking for you here?" Petunia asked.

"They won't. You've always complained about how you want to move away from here and I can make that happen. I will stay here until my Hogwarts letter comes and I can send back a reply so that they don't think anything is wrong, but until then you have two whole months to choose a house, and move out.

"This is a deal between us. You never have to deal with magic ever again, and I get my freedom as well as a way out of that terrible place that they call a school. I had a near death experience in what I was _assured_ to be one of the safest places on the earth. They obviously lied to me. You however, have not, save that whole magic and my parents were magical thing that went down a while back.

"So right now, I hold you, normal people, with more credibility than my own kind at the moment. Help me to help you and I will do the best I can to get you away from anything 'freakish'," saying that word killed him, "or 'magical'. This will benefit both of us in the end."

"How can you be sure boy?" Petunia said again. "What if they find you? What then? Will you involve us once again in this freaky business?"

"I know that I will eventually be found and I will deal with that when it happens. But for now and for the future, you were no longer involved in the magical world the moment I proposed this deal. Will you take my offer?"

"…"

"We will."

~.~

One month later, the Dursleys were shipping their stuff to Texas and Harry had applied for a school in— conveniently— South Carolina, America. It was called the Graham's Institute for Children **(A/N: made up)**. It was perfect because as long as he passed the entrance exams and kept his grades up then they didn't care about his past or what his past scores were. Good thing he paid attention in class and did the work despite never turning it in.

Perfect.

He took a moment to stare at the empty walls of the living room. It made him disappointed that the wizarding world was not all that it was cracked up to be. He was really excited about the fact that there would be people who could do the things he could do.

But he couldn't let himself be caught up in his excitement. So he decided that his first year would be a practice run and if he enjoyed it, he would stay. Unfortunately there was the whole Voldemort issue where a mad lunatic was after him the whole year. Not to mention the different views of him which almost always included him spoilt rotten like his cousin. Snape was a big disappointment there.

It just wasn't the environment that he wanted to be around for the rest of his life.

A 'pop' interrupted his thoughts and before him stood an odd creature with big eyes and large pointy ears.

"Misters Harry Potter sir! I must be warning you of the great danger you are in!" it squeaked.

Harry just looked at it dumbly for a second. "Um, I think I know what kind of danger I'm in. And who, or what, exactly are you anyway?"

"I's be a house elf sir. One bound to the Malfoy family!" it said somberly. "My names be Dobby, and I have a warning for you sir, you must not go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year."

"Oh ok, I wasn't planning on going anyway."

"There be's a great plot to- what?"

"I'm not going this year anyway so nothing to worry about Dobby!" Harry grinned.

Dobby looked a little put out by his answer but said nothing of it. "Then I's just be's on my way then sir."

"Goodbye Dobby." And the little creature popped away, leaving Harry with his thoughts once more.

**I've had this idea in my head for a total of three days now and I just can't wait for my laptop with all my story updates on there to be fixed any longer. So sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A couple of ****!WARNINGS!****before we continue: this story will have suggestive sexual content within as well as cross-dressing, inappropriate language, and the slash will take a while to set up**

**Oh yeah, Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs and made up schools**

~.~

**Year 1 at Graham's Institute for Children**

The school towered above him in the sky along the path. It wasn't as impressive as Hogwarts but it was impressive in its own right. He looked around at the school grounds, they were beautifully arranged. He looked further and saw a bunch of large building clustered together. He looked at how long a walk it would take for him to reach said buildings and rounded it to about five-seven minutes. He looked around for any form of human contact and dearly wished that he didn't have to navigate this place all by himself. He was about to start walking when a voice penetrated his thoughts.

"Mr. Potter?" He turned towards it and saw a well-dressed man with the greenest hair he'd ever seen and big, wide brown eyes staring at him expectantly.

"Um, yes?" he answered hesitantly but showed his relief on his face.

The man gave him a polite smile and said, "You're just on time. Though we were a little surprised to get a transfer student this late in the year."

"Yeah, sorry about that, my flight to America was delayed one month because of engine problems. I was actually considering not coming for a while but this is an elite school and it would hurt my studies to miss a year so I decided to come." It was half true. The real reason was because the school year for this school started on August first while Hogwarts starts on September first. So to send his acceptance letter he had to wait another month.

But they didn't need to know that.

"Elite school indeed. But I'm afraid the location they chose was a bit misguided. Honestly, choosing South Carolina, of all places." The upperclassman smiled and held out his hand, "But that's just my personal opinion, my names Jacob by the way. I'm the treasurer for the student council and I was given the… _privilege_ to show you around."

_'__Given the privilege to show me around? It makes him sound like he lost some sort of bet or something.'_ Harry thought as he took the offered hand and shook it with a simple, "Hello."

Jacob withdrew his hand and started walking towards the school, confident that harry would follow. "There are some things that you should know before entering. Though this is an all-boys school, it used to be a coed school. The sister school to this one is in the next town changed it to prevent students from letting their hormones get away with them every other day." Jacob's face took on a suggestive look as he said, "What they do in their spare time though… that's up to them."

"Um, okay?" Harry said hesitantly.

As Jacob went on to explain the rules and procedures he was interrupted by a situation happening on their right.

"Your majesty the Princess, please, come back! Without your motivational presence we'll never get focused in time!" a voice yelled from their right.

They followed the voice's direction and saw what looked like a girl with pretty blond hair and dark blue eyes dressed in a cornflower blue maid costume. She turned to the group of men who were following her and smiled an angelic smile that melted the crowd and said, "Oh, do I wish that I could stay longer but I must be going to the baseball club to finish my job before my class starts." Her face took on a hostile glint and in a cold voice she said, "You wouldn't want me to miss my class would you?"

The men backed off a little and got more nervous as the air around them dropped. "O-of course not your majesty."

The girl smiled, satisfied with their answer. "Good."

Shortly after the men left the blond was attempting to walk away but Jacob called her back.

"Princess Aspen, could you wait a minute?"

She turned around surprised at the treasurer. But when her eyes centered on Harry she let confusion show on her face. She proceeded to inspect him from top to bottom and Harry was beginning to feel uneasy under her gaze. She turned to the treasurer and snapped at him.

"What? I haven't got all day you know, because unlike _some people,_ I have other things to do."

Jacob just smiled, unperturbed by her attitude. "I wanted to introduce to the transfer student. Princess Aspen, meet Harry potter. He's going to be a dorm member soon so we were hoping you could show him around once you're finished with your job."

She glanced at him again for a moment before focusing her attention back on Jacob. "Is he going to be rooming in the Royalty-Room?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have him meet you personally if it were otherwise."

"Uh huh, whatever you say." She turned to Harry and held out her hand for him to shake, "Sup."

He took the offered hand and gave it a shake before letting go. A detail that he had picked up on from the earlier explanation came to him and he turned to Jacob in confusion and said, "I thought you said that there weren't any girls here? Why is she here then?"

"I was getting to that. Anyway—"

"I'm not a girl british boy." Aspen interrupted bluntly.

And while Jacob looked peeved at being interrupted again, Harry just looked at her (him?). "What?"

She/he folded her arms across her chest and said, "I'm not a girl. This is just my job."

"Your job? So, you're actually a guy and you get paid to dress up like a girl in a maid costume?" he asked skeptically.

"Well," the blond got a glint in his eyes, "Not just _maid_ costumes."

Harry, who was unsure how to respond to that, just said, "Okay," very awkwardly, fighting the blush that was making its way to his face, while Aspen just laughed and smiled softly.

"Oh I think I might like him." He said to Jacob. Aspen stuck his nose in the air and said, "I guess he can stay."

Jacob gave a mock bow and replied teasingly, "I am glad this pleases you my lady."

Aspen just sneered at the man and grabbed ahold of Harry's arm. "Ugh, ignore him. Come with me."

Harry, not knowing what was going on, just nodded his head and made a positive sound as he was being dragged by Aspen.

Aspen ended up being the one who gave him the tour of the school. _"__Guess I'm not going to baseball practice after all." Aspen joked._ But he still noticed something very strange about all the men he passed in the hallways in this school. Every single one of them _bowed_ to 'Princess Aspen' in some way. It was honestly starting to creep him out a little. He suspected that it had something to do with this _mysterioussystem_ that he knew nothing about.

After a while of walking in silence they reached the area of buildings which housed the dorm members. Aspen proceeded to show him the 'Royalty-Room' that they were talking about earlier. Harry thought this was the perfect chance to bring up said mysterious system.

"So, what the hell is this system all about?"

"Jacob not get that far?" Aspen asked.

"No."

"I guess I'll have to explain it then." He sighed and prepared himself for the enraged reaction that was bound to come out of this. "Because this is an all boy school, they take the prettiest men they can find and have them cross-dress and use them as a sort of morale booster for the rest of their year group. It usually ends once your freshman year starts. They usually try to get three 'princesses' but this year they were only able to find two, so the fact that you came along is a huge relief to them. We can finally put the third bed in our room to use." Aspen mused.

Harry meanwhile, was exasperated. "Don't I get a choice in the matter?" he said with controlled.

"Of course you do. But it's worth school credits and if you refuse then you can't properly graduate middle school." At Harry's downcast face, Aspen quickly said, "But there are some really cool rewards by doing it. I don't remember all of them, nor am I allowed to name any of them to you, but when you meet with the student council president he'll explain all the details of it to you."

Harry sighed and mentally berated himself, he had gotten into another mental school. It was just one thing after another.

"This is a stupid system." He grumbled.

"I agree. Let's get you settled in."

~.~

A few days passed in blissful silence and though the rumor of Harry becoming the next princess because he was rooming in the Royalty-Room got around, He was used to the stares from his time in Hogwarts so they bothered him less than they probably would have. Soon he got a missive from the student council president not unlike the ones he saw people deliver to other students from Dumbledore.

So here he stood, at the high school division in front of the door which held the question that would decide the rest of his school year.

Would he take the job?

His first response was to say no, but then he'd reflect on all that he'd learned about the damn thing and then realized that he didn't have enough information to give a proper answer. _'__And this is where I'll get said answers,'_ He thought.

Hesitantly, he knocked on said door and pushed it open when he heard a simple, "Come in."

He closed the door behind him and looked around. When he spotted the student council president his breath left him. God, how can a man be so _beautiful_! It was criminal!

He had the most _gorgeous_ chocolate colored hair, with pale, spring green eyes and fair white skin. The school uniform complimented him in ways that he didn't know boys could be complimented. Not to mention the rest of the council standing behind him, and not sitting like he thought they all would be.

"Hello Harry would you like to sit down?" the President said, gesturing to the sofa parallel to the one he was sitting in. Harry just nodded and took the seat offered.

"Now, you must be wondering who I am Mr. Potter. I am Caelan Raven the student council president. And it is my pleasure to offer you the hand in becoming a princess." He paused for dramatic effect. "A candidate for a Princess must be a first year middle school student to a freshman of the high school since they have more free time from school work, their bodies have not fully developed, and they can easily wear girls' outfits. From all the first years, those with the best looks and most-suited personalities are chosen to be Princesses. However, if one only has good looks but is not popular, that person will not be chosen. The Princesses' duties consist of: wearing girl's clothes to morning meetings or school events, encouraging others at school, and cheering at school events. Students who are required to be Princesses cannot refuse the position. Of course, if you refuse, then all the positives that come with being a princess will be out of your reach."

Harry leaned back into the sofa and folded his arms, a serious look etched into his face. "I've heard people go on and on about these benefits and whenever I ask they keep saying it isn't their place to do so. Am I finally allowed to hear them?"

"I suppose so. When there is a conflict between a Princess' work and school classes, absence from class or leaving early can be considered as a school vacation, and the absence will not show up on his attendance record. Every month the Princesses receive thirty school luncheon vouchers each. Therefore, when they eat at school, they do not have to pay. All necessary school supplies, such as notebooks, school apparel, etc. – are covered by the Princess budget, which is the largest in the whole school. Also, the Princesses will receive twenty percent profit they can use as pocket money from the photography club that takes pictures of the Princesses and sells them to other students. The school rules require the photography club to share their profits with whoever serves as model for the photos they sell, and the photographs of the Princesses are the most sought-after."

Caelan paused, waiting for Harry to say something but Harry's mind was focused on one little detail and ignored the rest of the information given. That one fact was:

Money.

To Harry, money was everything, and he who had so little during his first eleven years of life had nurtured an unhealthy desire for money. With money, he could by anything and everything he wanted and the more money he had, the more he would receive. It was also one of the many things solidifying his reason to play savior with Britain. They had presented him with all that gold, it was only kind that he return the favor.

A minute of silence went by undisturbed. Caelan decided to halt it by asking the question you've all been waiting for, "Mr. Potter, will you be our third princess?"

Harry looked the president in the eye and smiled.

"You had me at the word 'profit'."

"Lovely, let's get started then. We haven't a moment to waste."


End file.
